# Why do the Massachusetts senators continue their stupid pontifications? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 28, 2006, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943 "2006-01-28T02:39:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/41 "2006-01-29T01:57:41Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > If you’re serious about Democratic Nomination v2.008 Mr. Kerry, shouldn’t you rise above such petty partisan wrangling? I expect the nominee of my party in 2008 to have supported and fought for Democratic positions; in other words, to be a partisan wrangler. This comment of yours bewilders me. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/42 "2006-01-29T02:03:10Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > Kerry has nowhere near the balls of our present Commandable In Chief who when his country wanted him in Vietnam, did his level best _ **NOT** _ to get sent to that country. However, his heroism in the battle of El Paso is legendary. :rolleyes: I speak of political courage here. With Bush courage doesn’t even enter into the equation because he’s too arrogant to be afraid of anything. ---
**Author:** ![Blalron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/35a633/32.png) [@Blalron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blalron)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/43 "2006-01-29T02:06:52Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > If you’re serious about Democratic Nomination v2.008 Mr. Kerry, shouldn’t you rise above such petty partisan wrangling? What the fuck is “partisan wrangling” supposed to mean anyway? Fighting for the ideals his party is supposed to stand for? Hasn’t Bush done plenty of that? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/44 "2006-01-29T02:19:01Z")
**Blalron** > [@](#): > > I speak of political courage here. With Bush courage doesn’t even enter into the equation because he’s too arrogant to be afraid of anything. I like that clarification. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/45 "2006-01-29T02:25:07Z")
> [@Blalron](#): > > I speak of political courage here. With Bush courage doesn’t even enter into the equation because he’s too arrogant to be afraid of anything. I thnk its more a case of “Fools rush in, where angels fear to tread.” ---
**Author:** ![Updike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@Updike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Updike)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/46 "2006-01-29T04:57:40Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > I may regret asking, but: > > What have we “liberals” turned out to be wrong about lately? Or ever, if you wish - let’s see how far you have to dig. John Kerry as a winning Presidential candidate, to start with. ---
**Author:** ![Updike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@Updike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Updike)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/47 "2006-01-29T05:03:17Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > **Or ever, if you wish** - let’s see how far you have to dig. Liberals have never been wrong? Your pig-headed arrogance is simply stunning. Keep it up though, it suits you well. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/48 "2006-01-29T05:38:35Z")
So you ain’t got nothin’, right? ---
**Author:** ![wolf\_meister](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolf_meister/32/15202_2.png) [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/49 "2006-01-29T05:44:28Z")
Wow **Updike** you were so upset with that “liberal” posting you felt it required 2 consecutive replies? I’ll admit that the SDMB is decidedly liberal. However, I also feel that the SDMB liberals are more tolerant of the SDMB conservatives than the other way around. ---
**Author:** ![Updike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@Updike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Updike)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/50 "2006-01-29T05:44:31Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > So you ain’t got nothin’, right? Yep, I ain’t got nothin’. But you’re always right, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/51 "2006-01-29T05:46:15Z")
> [@Updike](#): > > John Kerry as a winning Presidential candidate, to start with. Kerry was nominated by the national Democratic Party, a group that is far from congruent with “liberals,” something that is generally understood outside Foxfantasyland. ---
**Author:** ![Updike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@Updike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Updike)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/52 "2006-01-29T05:47:54Z")
> [@wolf\_meister](#): > > Wow **Updike** you were so upset with that “liberal” posting you felt it required 2 consecutive replies? > > I’ll admit that the SDMB is decidedly liberal. However, I also feel that the SDMB liberals are more tolerant of the SDMB conservatives than the other way around. Chill out, I just added a second comment to my first one. I’m not like **alaricthegoth** who posts 4 or 5 replies in a row. Jeez. ---
**Author:** ![Updike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@Updike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Updike)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/53 "2006-01-29T05:52:34Z")
> [@Evil Captor](#): > > Kerry was nominated by the national Democratic Party, a group that is far from congruent with “liberals,” Which makes liberals like our friend \*\*Elvis/b] even more irrelavant, don’t you think? ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/54 "2006-01-29T05:54:15Z")
> [@Updike](#): > > Chill out, I just added a second comment to my first one. I’m not like **alaricthegoth** who posts 4 or 5 replies in a row. Jeez. At least he can be witty and observant when he chooses. ---
**Author:** ![Updike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@Updike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Updike)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 5:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/55 "2006-01-29T05:56:22Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > At least he can be witty and observant when he chooses. Really, do you have evidence of “witty and observant” on his part? If so, please share. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/56 "2006-01-29T06:10:27Z")
Take a stroll through his current Pitting, perhaps pausing [here,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7045798&postcount=61) for example. You, on the other hand, offer only regurgitated talking points, masticated in the slow jaws of willful obtuseness. ---
**Author:** ![Updike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ec9cab/32.png) [@Updike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Updike)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/57 "2006-01-29T06:17:25Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Take a stroll through his current Pitting, perhaps pausing [here,](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showpost.php?p=7045798&postcount=61) for example. > > You, on the other hand, offer only regurgitated talking points, masticated in the slow jaws of willful obtuseness. Yep, that is witty and observant all right. Not. BTW, the whole “if you don’t agree with us, UR TEH STOODPID,” thing is really, really old. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 10:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/58 "2006-01-29T10:09:17Z")
Hmmm. I didn’t think that partisan wrangling needed to be defined, but apparently it does. Hoping we’re OK with the ‘partisan’ portion, wrangle: to dispute angrily or peevishly, to bicker, to engage in argument or controversy, to quarrel. The point here is and has been, Alito is going to be confirmed, no matter what the two from Mass decide to do. If it were close, if there was any remote possibility of blocking the confirmation, then by all means, act upon your conscience, do as the electorate would have you do and launch a filibuster. But. it. won’t. work. It’s time to comport yourself as a gentleman and a pragmatist, accept the decision of the majority, and save your mental energies for a battle at which you’ve a reasonable chance of success. Clear now? ---
**Author:** ![scotandrsn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a4c791/32.png) [@scotandrsn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scotandrsn)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/59 "2006-01-29T14:19:51Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > Hmmm. I didn’t think that partisan wrangling needed to be defined, but apparently it does. Hoping we’re OK with the ‘partisan’ portion, wrangle: to dispute angrily or peevishly, to bicker, to engage in argument or controversy, to quarrel. > > The point here is and has been, Alito is going to be confirmed, no matter what the two from Mass decide to do. If it were close, if there was any remote possibility of blocking the confirmation, then by all means, act upon your conscience, do as the electorate would have you do and launch a filibuster. But. it. won’t. work. > > It’s time to comport yourself as a gentleman and a pragmatist, accept the decision of the majority, and save your mental energies for a battle at which you’ve a reasonable chance of success. > > Clear now? And I’m telling you, the MA voters, the only electorate that matters at this point to either of them, wouldn’t stand for it. It’s not simply a matter of partisanship in this case, it’s a matter of representation. The closest Kennedy ever came to not getting re-elected was during the last hotly-contested SC nomination, that of Clarence Thomas. MA voters sided with Anita Hill, and felt betrayed when Kennedy’s own history of debauchery and sexual objectification of women prevented him from saying more then mumbled platitudes during the hearings. While they understood the political relities of the situation, they didn’t fully forgive him until he made a very public mea culpa about how his personal failings prevented him from doing his job effectively, and greatly cleaned up his act. The MA Democratic party hasn’t managed to field a palatable new candidate for any high-profile office in years. A quick look shows that most if not all of their US Representatives are very-long-termers, and they’ve more or less given up the governor’s office to the likes of Mitt Romney and the three, count 'em, three Republicans who preceded him. Kennedy knows the Oval Office will never be his. He’s up for re-election this year, and has nothing to lose but his Senate seat. Don’t expect him to let the Alito matter slide anytime soon. Kerry’s face is covered in egg after voting for the war and, shall we say, not making anyone in MA foget the humiliation of the Dukakis campaign. He either has misguided notions of running again, or is simply preparing for his 2008 Senate campaign. He doesn’t want the MA voters having one more instance in their memories of when Kennedy was right, and he was not. ---
**Author:** ![What\_Exit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/what_exit/32/10652_2.png) [@What\_Exit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/What_Exit)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2006, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943/60 "2006-01-29T14:40:23Z")
> [@danceswithcats](#): > > Fine and dandy-you’re entitled to dislike Alito as a Supreme court nominee. You’re entitled to dislike Roberts, too. Hell-you’re entitled to dislike anything and everything that the GOP thinks, says, plans, does, or doesn’t do-that seems to be the cut of your cloth. > > But why do you two carry on about filibusters when members of your own party are effectively telling you to STFU? Listening to NPR today, it sounded as though other Democrats wished to move things towards conclusion and avoid grandstanding. > > Has Senator Seagram reduced his number of firing neurons to the point that clear thinking is no longer possible? If you’re serious about Democratic Nomination v2.008 Mr. Kerry, shouldn’t you rise above such petty partisan wrangling? Disclaimer: I have not read all the posts, I am only responding to the OP. I believe the problem with the Mass Senators is they are two old fashion, liberal Dinosaurs. The Senators that do the most damage to the democratic Party with the independent and moderate voters. Jim (I will now read the thread, but I wanted to post without being influenced by others) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-the-massachusetts-senators-continue-their-stupid-pontifications/341943.md?page=4)